Do you have a career based on wants or shoulds?
For the longest time, I sought fulfillment from outside of myself. I thought that what I did for a living was my purpose.
I tried to fit in to whatever mold a company wanted me to. I rarely reflected on if my actual gifts and strengths were being utilized. I was so concerned with performing and achieving and the expectations my employers had of me. Never did I reflect on the expectations I had of them. I was conditioned to believe that I needed a safe and stable job and only then would I feel fulfilled.
That never happened. Were my skills utilized? Sometimes, not always. Did my career look good from the outside? Hell yes. On the inside though, it didn’t feel 100% good. Even when I found myself being employed by a very big company that on the surface promised expansion and possibilities did I feel fulfilled.
My very first week there it became clear to me that they weren’t interested in my experience or my ideas, they simply wanted me to fit into “their way” of working. As a Projector, this is a big red flag (I wasn’t invited in based on recognition or the value I provided). At the time though, I didn’t know about Human Design, but I remember thinking it was weird that they didn’t really wanna hear about my ideas for improvement.
And they never did wanna to hear about my ideas. Not in the 1st year, not in the 3rd year, not in the 7th either. I did everything that was expected of me. It was a career of shoulds.
A career of shoulds will never be fulfilling. Only you can create that sense of meaning. A career based on wants means feeling recognized, valued, seen, lit up, peaceful, satisfied.
I am so happy to say that’s what I have now. I took the time to truly understand who I was and from there I was able to create my dream job that is based on my wants, strengths, gifts, and passions. I know you can too.
So ask yourself:
✩ Is your career the result of your actual interests and passions?
✩ Is your career a result of someone else’s expectations of you?
✩ Did you get to choose your career?
✩ Can you choose again, start over?
Of course there are those jobs that simply pay the bills that we need to take sometimes. But if you are privileged enough to choose, what would you choose to do?